Community in the Loop: A Community-Led Framework for Municipal AI Governance in Austin, Texas
Over 400 Austin residents shaped a community-led blueprint for municipal AI governance, grounded in transparency, human oversight, and environmental justice.
As artificial intelligence rapidly expands into public systems, municipalities face increasing pressure to establish governance frameworks that ensure transparency, accountability, equity, and public trust. This Measure Black Paper documents Austin, Texas's "Community in the Loop" initiative, a multi-session, community-led engagement series facilitated by Measure in partnership with the City of Austin and the Austin AI Alliance. Using Measure's CARE Model framework, the initiative gathered longitudinal qualitative data from over 400 residents between 2025 and 2026. Residents consistently prioritized transparency, human oversight, participatory governance, environmental justice, privacy protections, and equitable access to AI literacy, offering a scalable blueprint for democratic municipal engagement around artificial intelligence.
Styles, M., Williams, Z., Wallace, G., & Merida, B. (2026). Community in the Loop: A Community-Led Framework for Municipal AI Governance in Austin, Texas [Report]. Measure, in partnership with the City of Austin and the Austin AI Alliance. https://wemeasure.org/reports/community-in-the-loop-municipal-ai-governance
Authors are listed in the order recognized by Measure for this report.
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